Monday, July 28, 2008

Every day, people have to suffer and die because of the horrifying acts of the "moral" right wing. Iraq, Afghanistan, U$, all over the world. The same mentality drives it all. I am right, therefore you should die if you do not agree. ~Deb

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - An unemployed man accused of opening fire with a shotgun and killing two people at a Unitarian church apparently targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal social policies, police said Monday.

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Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said a letter had been been recovered from the SUV of Jim D. Adkisson, 58, by investigators seeking clues about the motive behind the attack. Authorities said he was an apparent stranger to the Tennessee church where gunfire punctuated a children's performance based on the musical "Annie." Two people were killed and seven wounded Sunday.

"It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that and his stated hatred of the liberal movement," Owen said at a news conference.

No children were hurt, but five people remained in serious or critical condition Monday. A burly usher who died is being hailed as a hero for shielding others from gunfire Sunday at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Witnesses said some of the men present tackled a man who pulled a shotgun from a guitar case before at least three blasts rang out.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Women are victimized so frequently that everyone views it as normal...something that we should just accept as our womanly duty. I have no womanly duties. I only have duties to the other occupants of this planet.

Now, let me ask you this: since when should a victim be penalized for being victimized twice? Why should my complaint, backed with direct evidence, be ignored? Oh, I get it! Because I had a similar complaint, which I backed with direct evidence, in the recent past. That's why.

theprofessor20032003 (original post deleted because it made my blog X-rated!) continues to be greeted breathlessly as the crowd awaits his words of wisdom. I asked why theprofessor20032003 was still welcome in this room after he and some horndog friend came into the chatroom and began describing the condition of their sexual organs...to ME.

Room members leapt to the defense of the sexual predator. I was told that it wasn't any worse than what happened in other rooms. I said, I don't go to those other rooms, and I have never been subjected to that kind of abuse in this room. I said that I was a particular victim in this instance, and that I was distressed that no one would take up for me. Some friends, in particular omars girl, explained that it was offensive not only to me but to many other women in the room.

I do not visit political chat to be subjected to that kind of abuse. The right wing is abusive enough politically that I need not take more, and especially targeted towards me.

theprofessor20032003 positions himself to be a "liberal" in order to induce trust in his victims. Because he seemed like a sensible man, I opened a chat with him. He first began abusing me in private messaging. He started making graphic sexual suggestions to me. When I told him to stop and ended the chat, he took it into the chatroom...where nobody seemed to mind that he was abusing me.

I was shocked that even regularly sensible men refused to support me and ban the professor20032003 from the chat room where I was, until tonight, an administrator. Many of the women came to support the professor20032003 as well.

One woman said that he should not be convicted on hearsay. I replied, "this is not hearsay. It is direct evidence. Read it for yourself."

I resign. I know what sexual abuse is, and I know when it is directed at me. I know what a rape victim feels like now... "she was asking for it."

The people in that room, including admins, knew that a man who had threatened me with a sexually violent death had visited the room a few weeks before. So, since everyone is always making excuses for sexual predators (think of your uncle the child molester), I am sure that they said that I was being oversensitive.

I went to an Energy Policy Platform meeting today. People were discussing the development of a national policy, much like the "Go to the Moon" initiative originally pressed by JFK in the 1960s, to lessen our dependence on carbon-based fuels. Such a national policy already exists, developed by the Apollo Alliance and similar organizations.

I took the discussion beyond that point. I stated that in order to accomplish such a mammoth goal, it might be necessary to nationalize the oil companies. Realistically, this step must be taken. Oil companies are oil *pushers.* This step is politically distasteful, and I got a range of reactions to my comment. The reaction was meaningless to me. I was merely opening the range of discussion. What I said today, although abhorrent to some in my audience, is a seed planted.

Political and economic changes do not occur because people ask for exactly what they want. These changes occur because people ask for their ideal and press for it, in the streets. Then, the ruling class gives people something that provides the illusion that they might get what they want, someday, if they will just go home.

This is an example of the Overton Window in action. The Overton Window concept holds a narrow range of possibilities can be expanded...that people should demand MUCH MORE than they want, in order to move the discussion closer to the ideal.

"In addition to being dependent on the ideas that form the boundaries of the political climate, politicians are also known to be self-interested and desirous of obtaining the best political result for themselves.[2] Therefore, they will almost always constrain themselves to taking actions within the "window" of ideas approved of by the electorate. Actions outside of this window, while theoretically possible, and maybe more optimal in terms of sound policy, are politically unsuccessful. Even if a few legislators were willing to stick out their necks for an action outside the window, most would not risk the disfavor of their constituents. They may seek the good of those who elected them, and even the good of the state or nation as a whole, but in pursuing the course they think is best, most will certainly take into account their political future. This is the heart of the Overton window theory.

"So, if a think tank’s research and the principles of sound policy suggest a particular idea that lies outside the Overton window, what is to be done? Shift the window. Since commonly held ideas, attitudes and presumptions frame what is politically possible and create the "window," a change in the opinions held by politicians and the people in general will shift it. Move the window of what is politically possible and those policies previously impractical can become the next great popular and legislative rage."

Example: The Depression. The Depression led to misery and death worldwide. Let's stick the U$A as an example. Revolution threatened. So, what did the "smart conservatives" like FDR do? They implemented programs that helped WHITE MEN only, like the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Then, those programs were dismantled in favor of the WWII war economy, never to return. What the people wanted was a way to earn a living doing dignified and fulfilling work in their home towns. They got nothing like that.

Example: The Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement demanded not only equal opportunity, but such things as a guaranteed job! Gasp! What, they didn't want welfare? No! All they wanted was a guaranteed job, the ability to work to take care of their families. What they got instead after 200 years of pain, misery, poverty, and death, was the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. These Acts provided those who suffered from discrimination not what they asked for, but the illusion that they might be able to achieve their goals. Problem: you had to sue and win and enforce a judgment. Result, not even close to what justice and compassion demanded.

The Overton Window was not shifted far enough. It's time to start asking for WAY more than we think is possible.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Interalia*, Hypatia is that dreaded creature, an Econ Geek. I took my first econ class when I was 16 years old. I always thought that I wanted to become an economist until I saw the course list. (((Snore.)))

Economists have the best jobs! Even when they are wrong, they can always come up with a plausible excuse and remain employed.

However, I have kept up with the field, and know enough to know that there is nothing, nothing, nothing that will stop the US economy on its greased slide into oblivion. A lack of effective regulation, such as in the case of Indymac, is only one facet of the TOTAL lack of conservation and prudence on the part of the ummmm...conservatives.

Example follows:

Crisis Deepens as Big Bank Fails

IndyMac Seized
In Largest Bust
In Two Decades

By DAMIAN PALETTA and DAVID ENRICH

July 12, 2008; Page A1http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121581435073947103.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
IndyMac Bank, a prolific mortgage specialist that helped fuel the housing boom, was seized Friday by federal regulators, in the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history.
IndyMac is the biggest mortgage lender to go under since a fall in housing prices and surge in defaults began rippling through the economy last year -- and it likely won't be the last. Banking regulators are bracing for a slew of failures over the next year as analysts say housing prices have yet to bottom out.

The collapse is expected to cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. between $4 billion and $8 billion, potentially wiping out more than 10% of the FDIC's $53 billion deposit-insurance fund.

The Pasadena, Calif., thrift was one of the largest savings and loans in the country, with about $32 billion in assets. It now joins an infamous list of collapsed banks, topped by Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co., which failed in 1984 with $40 billion of assets. The second-largest failure was American Savings & Loan Association of Stockton, Calif., in 1988.

The director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, John Reich, blamed IndyMac's failure on comments made in late June by Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.), who sent a letter to the regulator raising concerns about the bank's solvency. In the following 11 days, spooked depositors withdrew a total of $1.3 billion. Mr. Reich said Sen. Schumer gave the bank a "heart attack."

"Would the institution have failed without the deposit run?" Mr. Reich asked reporters. "We'll never know the answer to that question."

Mr. Schumer quickly fired back.

"If OTS had done its job as regulator and not let IndyMac's poor and loose lending practices continue, we wouldn't be where we are today," Sen. Schumer said. "Instead of pointing false fingers of blame, OTS should start doing its job to prevent future IndyMacs."

IndyMac had been troubled for months, and investors were concerned about its possible downfall well before Sen. Schumer's comments. It specialized in Alt-A loans, a type of mortgage that can often be offered to borrowers who don't fully document their incomes or assets. The company sold most of the loans it originated, but continued to hold some on its books. As defaults piled up, IndyMac's finances deteriorated.

The bank will be run by the FDIC and reopen Monday. The FDIC typically insures up to $100,000 per depositor. IndyMac had roughly $19 billion of deposits. Nearly $1 billion of those deposits were uninsured, affecting about 10,000 people, the FDIC said.

IndyMac's arc -- rapid growth, followed by an even more rapid descent -- is a microcosm of the mortgage industry. It boomed in the first part of this decade, as investors were willing to fund loans on ever-looser terms, then hit hard times when the housing market began to turn down in late 2006.

Small mortgage lenders started going under quickly, with the number of failures climbing into the hundreds. Now the fallout has spread world-wide, bringing down some of America's largest financial institutions. Bear Stearns Cos., which suffered losses on mortgage-related investments, underwent a meltdown in March and had to be rescued by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Countrywide Financial Corp., at one time the nation's largest mortgage lender, saw its stock price plunge this year and was forced to sell itself to Bank of America Corp. at a firesale price.

IndyMac, in a last-ditch effort to fend off collapse after it failed to raise fresh capital, said this past week it was firing more than half its work force and closing most of its lending operations. While its shares had been tumbling since early 2007, the move was nonetheless jarring for a company that ranked as the ninth-largest U.S. mortgage lender last year in terms of loan volume, according to trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance.

IndyMac is one of the few federally insured banks to fail in recent years. Banking regulators are bulking up their staff of bank examiners and taking a tough approach toward banks that are seen as risky.

Mr. Reich, the thrift regulator, noted that the IndyMac case had some "unique" features, including the involvement of Sen. Schumer and the rapid fall in its deposits. Officials said most of the recent withdrawals came from depositors at branches, rather than those making deposits at IndyMac's online bank.

IndyMac was set up by Countrywide in 1985, but the two companies severed ties in 1997 and became direct competitors. The company's name stands for Independent National Mortgage. It was created to specialize in jumbo mortgages -- those that are too big to be sold to government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 1997, under the direction of Chief Executive Michael Perry, a protege of Countrywide chief Angelo Mozilo, IndyMac set off on its own.

The company grew quickly, pioneering the issuance of so-called Alt-A mortgages to people with blemished credit histories. The loans have gained notoriety as an example of the type of lax lending that came to characterize much of the mortgage industry.

Early last year, Mr. Perry remained optimistic about IndyMac's future, insisting that the company had the resources to remain independent. At the time, IndyMac's stock was trading for about $45 a share.

But the combination of the frozen credit markets and mounting defaults on IndyMac loans steadily sapped investor confidence in the company. In February, IndyMac reported the first annual loss in its 23-year history. By this week, its shares, which ended last year at less than $7 each, were trading for 28 cents apiece.

The company was desperate for more capital but couldn't find investors willing to put fresh funds into what looked like a crippled institution.

The failure could be felt across the entire banking industry, as the FDIC will likely have to raise insurance assessments for all banks to build up government reserves. "It takes a big chunk out of the FDIC insurance fund," said Chip MacDonald, a banking lawyer at law firm Jones Day. He said that if the FDIC hikes insurance fees, that will add to already-intense pressure on bank profits.

The OTS and FDIC didn't secure any outside firm to acquire the bank's assets. The FDIC will temporarily run the bank through a new bank it has created, called IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB.

Write to Damian Paletta at damian.paletta@wsj.com and David Enrich at david.enrich@wsj.com

*The taxpayers of California and I are in debt to the tune of $125K for my education.

Hypatia of Alexandria

Hypatia of Alexandria (Greek: Ὑπατία; born between 350 and 370 CE – 415 CE) was a Greek scholar from Alexandria in Egypt, considered the first notable woman in mathematics, who also taught philosophy and astronomy. She lived in Roman Egypt, and was killed by a Coptic Christian mob who blamed her for religious turmoil. She has been hailed as a "valiant defender of science against religion", and some suggest that her murder marked the end of the Hellenistic Age.

A Neoplatonist philosopher, she followed the school characterized by the 3rd century thinker Plotinus, and discouraged mysticism while encouraging logical and mathematical studies.

Hypatia was the daughter of Theon, who was her teacher and the last known mathematician associated with of the Musaeum of Alexandria. She traveled to both Athens and Italy to study before becoming head of the Platonist school at Alexandria in approximately 400 CE. According to the Byzantine Suda, she worked as teacher of philosophy, teaching the works of Plato and Aristotle. It is believed that there were both Christians and foreigners among her students.

Although Hypatia was herself a pagan, she was respected by a number of Christians, and later held up by Christian authors as a symbol of virtue. The Suda controversially declared her "the wife of Isidore the Philosopher" but agreed she had remained a virgin.

Hypatia maintained correspondence with her former pupil Bishop of Ptolomais Synesius of Cyrene. Together with the references by Damascius, these are the only writings with descriptions or information from her pupils that survive.

The contemporary Christian historiographer Socrates Scholasticus described her in his Ecclesiastical History:There was a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, daughter of the philosopher Theon, who made such attainments in literature and science, as to far surpass all the philosophers of her own time. Having succeeded to the school of Plato and Plotinus, she explained the principles of philosophy to her auditors, many of whom came from a distance to receive her instructions. On account of the self-possession and ease of manner, which she had acquired in consequence of the cultivation of her mind, she not unfrequently appeared in public in presence of the magistrates. Neither did she feel abashed in going to an assembly of men. For all men on account of her extraordinary dignity and virtue admired her the more.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypatia_of_Alexandria

About Me

Ms. LaRosa (her nom de plume) aka Deborah Lagutaris is a grandmother of three, a mother of two, and a recent graduate of a top-tier law school. She put herself through college and law school after she held responsible positions for 30 years in banking, real estate brokerage, and real estate lending.